November 2004 Auroras

On November 5, 2004, the Sun produced a long duration M-class flare. The particles which were released reached the Earth on the evening of November 7. An intense auroral display was triggered, which extended to latitudes below 30°.

Northern sky, 18:27 MST. Red streamers are indicative of a very energetic event- just the type required to extend an aurora as far south as Colorado. It is particularly unusual to see this activity so early in the evening- just an hour after sunset.

All images on this page were made with a Canon 300D, 30-second exposure, ISO 400.

Northern sky, 18:32 MST. As the intense red glow fades slightly, strong green skyglow becomes more visible. The constellation of Auriga, with the bright star Capella, is seen just above the rightmost peak. In the upper right corner is Perseus, with the bright stars Mirfak and Algol.

Northern sky, 18:37 MST. The red glow continues to decrease. A somewhat magenta color appears, which is probably a mix of red and blue, rather than a discrete purple emission.

Northern sky, 21:34 MDT. Several hours later, the energetic red glow has disappeared and a long lasting green/blue skyglow has appeared, looking something like twilight. Clouds are starting to come in, which will make later viewing impossible. The orange glow over the peak is light pollution from Denver, 70 miles to the north. This is usually not visible, but was reflecting here off of the cloud deck.